Short answer: on the premium gas cooktops and ranges we diagnosed for ignition trouble in 2026, the igniter or electrode at the burner caused 3 of 8, the spark module 3 and a burner gas valve 1. One stayed intermittent. Start with the easy checks: knobs fully off, igniter dry and clean, cap seated flat. Call if it keeps clicking or won’t light.
If you smell gas at any point, stop. Leave the house and call 911 and PG&E at 1-800-743-5000 from a safe distance, without touching the range or flipping switches. Call us once it’s been made safe.
What we found on our 2026 ignition calls
From June 1 to November 12, 2026 our job records show 9 calls where the complaint was burner ignition on a premium gas cooktop, rangetop or range: Thermador (3), GE Monogram (2), Dacor, La Cornue, ILVE and Viking. Eight have a single recorded cause. On the Viking we quoted the whole ignition set (switches, igniters and module) and did the repair as one job, so no single cause is recorded and it isn’t in the table.
| What we found | Calls | What the owner noticed | What it took |
|---|---|---|---|
| Igniter or electrode at the burner | 3 | One burner that wouldn’t light (Dacor cooktop, ILVE range). Burners that lit poorly and kept sparking at the lowest flame (GE Monogram range) | Dacor: a new burner igniter. ILVE: an electrical short, with two spark igniters and the spark module quoted. Monogram: a weak spark electrode, plus a clogged burner nozzle and a seized burner mount |
| Spark module | 3 | No burner would light (La Cornue range). Two left burners not lighting (GE Monogram range). An ignition fault on a Thermador cooktop | La Cornue: a new ignition module and two burner gas valves recommended. Monogram: spark module replacement quoted. Thermador: the original module is discontinued and the substitute the parts diagram lists didn’t fix the ignition, so we recommended replacing the cooktop |
| Burner gas valve | 1 | Igniters spotty, one burner not lighting at all (Thermador cooktop) | One burner sparked but got no gas, and a second lit late. Seized burner nuts had to come off first. The diagnosis ended with one burner’s magnetic gas valve to replace |
| Intermittent, not pinned down | 1 | One burner and the broiler lit only some of the time (Thermador range) | Worked again after cleaning and cycling the controls. Switch, module or wiring to check if it comes back |
Where those 8 were:
| City | Units | What we found |
|---|---|---|
| Danville | 2 | Weak electrode and clogged burner nozzle 1, spark module 1 |
| Pleasant Hill | 1 | Burner igniter |
| Atherton | 1 | Ignition short, igniters suspected |
| Sunnyvale | 1 | Spark module, original discontinued |
| Piedmont | 1 | Ignition module and burner gas valves |
| Pleasanton | 1 | Burner gas valve |
| Berkeley | 1 | Intermittent, not pinned down |
Method: completed jobs in our records from June 1 to November 12, 2026 on premium gas cooktops, rangetops and ranges where the complaint was burner ignition, one row per appliance. Oven bake and broil igniters are a different part and aren’t counted, and neither are calls whose notes don’t say whether the burner or the oven was the problem. Two burner cases published on this site, a Thermador in South San Francisco and a Bertazzoni in Los Altos Hills, came from records without the finding in our job system, so they’re linked, not counted. Eight units is a small sample. It’s still enough to show that the same click can come from a cleaning or from a part that’s no longer made.
How to tell the causes apart
Clicking with a flame on a low setting. That can be normal. Thermador’s Masterpiece cooktop guide says that with a flame present on Low the igniter may occasionally spark, and its ExtraLow burners relight with a slight click about every 60 seconds.
Every burner clicks when you turn one on. On some cooktops that’s by design. The same guide says all igniters spark when any single burner is turned on for SGS and SGSP models. SGSX and SGSXP models spark only at the burner you turned on.
Clicking that won’t stop, knobs off. Thermador’s cooktop guide lists a knob that’s stuck or pushed down, and says one or two sparks right after power comes back are normal. Its range guide ties constant sparking to a range that isn’t properly grounded or power that’s incorrectly polarized. Past a stuck knob, the suspects are a knob switch, the spark module or the wiring. None of those are owner repairs.
Clicks but won’t light. Look at the cap and the burner ports first. If the spark is strong and there’s still no flame, the burner may not be getting gas. On our Pleasanton Thermador one burner sparked but got no gas. The diagnosis ended with a magnetic gas valve to replace on a different burner. On a Thermador range in South San Francisco the burner had been clicking a lot before it quit, and a dirty electrode was the cause.
No burner lights. When every burner fails at once, look past a single igniter toward the module or its power. On our La Cornue no burner would light, and the ignition module was on the list.
One burner only. Something local: that igniter, its electrode, its cap or its valve. Our Dacor and ILVE calls were both one-burner problems.
What Thermador’s guides tell owners to check
These come from Thermador’s Masterpiece Series Gas Cooktop Use and Care Guide (SGS, SGSX, SGSP, SGSXP) and its Professional Series Pro Grand and Pro Harmony Ranges Use and Care Guide. If you have another brand, check your own model’s guide, since the wording and the details differ.
- Keep the igniter clean and dry. A wet or soiled igniter may spark without lighting the burner, or spark continuously. The cooktop guide says to wipe the ceramic with a cotton swab dampened with water, ammonia or Formula 409 and to scrape soil off gently with a toothpick. Avoid excess water: a damp igniter will keep the burner from lighting.
- Give it 4 seconds. If a burner doesn’t light within 4 seconds, turn it off and check that the burner cap sits correctly on its base. The range guide lists more than four clicks before lighting as a sign the cap isn’t fitted right.
- Clean the burner ports. After a boilover, or when a burner won’t light although the igniters click. The range guide says to clear the ports with a wire, a needle or a straightened paper clip.
- Constant sparking. The range guide lists a range that isn’t properly grounded or power that’s incorrectly polarized, and says to have a qualified electrician ground the range properly.
- Sparking but no flame. The range guide’s first cause is the gas supply valve left in the off position.
Stop there. Knob switches, the spark module, wiring and gas valves are for a technician.
What we check
We start with which burners click and when: knobs off, while lighting, or with a flame on low. Then the spark at each electrode, the caps and ports, the switch behind each knob, and the module. Only then the gas side.
On the Danville Monogram that order found three things at once: a weak spark at one electrode, a clogged burner nozzle and a burner mount seized to its base. We advised against taking that range apart, to avoid permanent damage to the gas lines. On the Sunnyvale Thermador cooktop the original spark module is no longer made. We installed the substitute the parts diagram lists, it didn’t fix the ignition, so we told the owner further repair may not be practical and recommended replacing the cooktop.
You get the cause, the repair it needs and the price before any work starts.
When burner nuts are seized
On Thermador rangetops and cooktops we often find the nuts that hold the burners rusted in place. The gas valves, gas tubes and wiring sit under the burner pans, so until those nuts come off we can’t reach them to finish the diagnosis.
A seized nut doesn’t turn. We cut it off or drill it out, and sometimes the burner has to be drilled out with it. Cutting and drilling can damage the burner around the nut, so that work and the parts it may damage go on the estimate first, and we start only after you sign it. On the Pleasanton Thermador cooktop in the table above, the seized burner nuts had to come off before we could find the bad gas valve.
What it costs
- Diagnostic visit: $99, credited toward the repair if you go ahead with us.
- The repair depends on the part. On our 2026 calls it ran from cleaning and cycling the controls to an igniter, a spark module or a gas valve.
- Warranty: from 3 months to 2 years depending on the type of repair.
See our Thermador repair page and Dacor repair page, or cooking appliance repair for the cooktops, rangetops and ranges we work on. These calls came from across the Bay Area, including Pleasanton and Danville. For a Gaggenau gas burner that won’t light, see Gaggenau cooktop not working.
When to call
Call if:
- Drying and cleaning didn’t stop the clicking
- A burner clicks with a strong spark but won’t light
- No burner lights at all
- All burners keep clicking with every knob off
- You smell gas. Leave the house and call 911 and PG&E at 1-800-743-5000 from a safe distance first, without touching the range, then call us once it’s safe
The diagnostic visit is $99 and goes toward the repair. Book a visit or give us a call.